Rising from the scrum: A new vision for former Grand Rapids dump

from MLive:

GRAND RAPIDS – The latest dream in a heap of dashed aspirations for the former Butterworth landfill: a rugby complex.

A deal being negotiated by the city and the West Michigan Rugby Association could lead to the construction of several fields at the 120-acre site along the Gerald R. Ford Freeway, at the west end of Wealthy Street SW.

The local group thinks the property could host matches involving youth teams on up to international competition.

“If you had a USA versus Canada, you’d have a ton of Canucks coming across the border,” said Greg Peak, president of the association. “It’d be a huge influx into the economy of Grand Rapids.

“Grand Rapids isn’t what I’d call a hotbed for rugby, but it’s going to become one.”

The old landfill that holds household trash and industrial waste closed in the 1970s, and later was cleaned up and covered with a 4-foot cap of clay, sand and soil. Several ideas for re-using the site – go-kart track, nature conservatory, golf driving range, airfield for remote-controlled model planes – have surfaced over the years. A former city commissioner at one time planted a goalpost to generate support for a municipal stadium.

Press File PhotoA football goalpost and sign touting a future stadium – not now permitted because it would violate the clay cap – stands on the property in 1971.

The site now features a paved path, but options for other use are limited because nothing can be built through the cap, per U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations. Athletic fields are “the highest and best use for a landfill,” Peak said.

The association wants to develop a centralized complex for youth training and amateur events to attract out-of-area teams and visitors to Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids Gazelles, a local rugby club, this year hosted atournament with 40 teams, for example.

Peak, who played several years for the Gazelles, said the fields also could accommodate football and soccer, or host any number of events for the annual State Games of Michigan.

“The beauty of (rugby) is you could have multiple uses on that field,” said Jay Steffen, the city’s assistant planning director. “You just have to stripe it differently.”

The city has drafted an agreement on use of the fields and is awaiting response from the rugby association’s attorney, Steffen said. The association would have to foot the bill for the project, he said.

Matt Gade | The Grand Rapids PressDavenport University’s Erin Hillary looks to pitch in a game last fall. Davenport in 2011 won a national title in rugby.

Estimated costs range from $1 million for the fields to up to $5 million for additional infrastructure and amenities.

“There’s no utilities out there, so the burden falls to them to develop not only the facilities but the support facilities,” Steffen said. “The city doesn’t have any money.”

The West Michigan Sports Commission supports the rugby association’s pursuit of a complex, but “not financially at this time due to our current commitment toward the baseball/softball complex” near Rockford, said Mike Guswiler, executive director.

The commission is raising money to build a 12-field center at U.S. 131 and 10 Mile Road NE and hopes to break ground this year. That complex could generate $7.5 million in lodging revenue and $20 million in direct visitor spending during the first five years of operation, according to a projection.